Power electronics for modern medium-voltage distribution systems

Classically, power electronics are mostly used in drive applications. Therefore, the first medium-voltage converters were developed for high-power industrial drives. In recent years, the demand of power quality in distribution systems has increased significantly. The demand for new emerging technologies to solve present problems in transmission and distribution systems has risen. Next to communication systems, power electronics are the key enabling technology to improve productivity and reliability. Thus, the demand of power electronics for power systems has increased. This paper gives an overview on this topic. After a brief introduction, modern high-power device technology and converter topologies are described. Finally, several applications in power systems will be presented.